


Tea for Three

by maraudquxxrs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Baby Teddy Lupin, F/M, Fred Weasley Lives, after the war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23814679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maraudquxxrs/pseuds/maraudquxxrs
Summary: After the war, there are only three things Harry knows for sure. One, taking care of Teddy comes first, always. Two, he feels out of place in the wizarding world. Three, he loves Ginny. He’s always loved Ginny.Tea for Three explores Harry’s journey in teenage godfatherhood, re-entering a world that he isn’t completely sure he wants to go back to, and falling in love with the girl whose love for him never once wavered.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	1. One

**One**

Harry sat on the dull orange couch of his London flat. This was a normal thing for him now, just sitting on the couch, waiting for Teddy to wake up. He didn't sleep most nights. He couldn't focus on reading. He had a telly, he bought one for Teddy to watch cartoons on and never used magic so that it would work, but he found no interest in flicking through channels. So, he just sat.

He could feel the pile of letters that Ginny had sent him, unopened and on the coffee table, glaring at him. He wanted to open them, he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. If he read her letters, he would cave and want to see her, and then he would start depending on her. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't.

He checked his watch; the one Molly had given him. It was seven, just an hour since he last checked on Teddy, who he knew would be waking up soon. He stood up, poked his head into the bedroom to see if Teddy was stirring, and then went to the kitchen to begin making tea. It was Thursday, so Luna would be stopping by with food that Molly sent with her and another letter.

Right as Harry finished pouring the tea into cups, he heard Teddy begin to cry. He rushed to the bedroom, and scooped Teddy out of his crib, grabbing a new nappy for him as he did. He made quick work of the job, changing Teddy into a new onesie as well.

Teddy's hair was jet black, mimicking Harry's.

Outside in the apartment, he heard Luna arrive, letting herself in as he asked her to do, so not to bother Teddy with knocking. He heard her move around the apartment, talking, but it wasn't unusual for her to talk to herself. What was unusual was the low murmur of someone else responding.

Harry held Teddy to his chest as he stepped out of the bedroom and his breath hitched when he saw Ginny standing in the living room, in patched jeans and what looked like an extremely soft tee shirt, her hair a lot shorter than the last time he saw it.

His eyes shot to Luna, who was purposely not looking at him and then went back to Ginny, who just stood there. Waiting for him to say something - anything. He wasn't sure what to say other than -

"I only made tea for two."

* * *

Luna looked up, finally meeting Harry’s eyes, and spoke softly. “Oh, that’s quite alright, Ginny can have my cup. I was thinking about stepping out to that bakery downstairs anyways. We woke up before Molly made breakfast and I’m craving scones.” Luna was speaking fast, words overlapping with one another, as if she was nervous that if she stayed in this apartment too long, she might explode.

Harry tried to send her a calming smile, but Luna was looking at Ginny now, who said, in such a reassuring tone that he could see Luna visibly relax, “Blueberry scones sound nice, Luna.”

Harry adjusted Teddy in his arms, walking towards the coffee table to pick up his wallet. He pulled out some muggle money and handed it to Luna, “You’ll need this.” Luna, still a little bit nervous, thanked him and left quickly.

He turned to Ginny now, still stunned by her presence in his living room. They studied each other, saying nothing. Finally, he broke the silence.

“You cut your hair,” he said. He could still see it, falling past her shoulders, his hand brushing it out of her face the last time he kissed her. He couldn’t tell if he liked it better this way, but she, as always, looked beautiful. “It’s nice.”

Ginny reached up to it, her fingers grazing the back of her neck where there was once hair. “Mum helped me cut it. ‘M pretty sure she cried.”

“How is your mum,” he asked, now walking throughout the apartment so he didn’t have to meet her eye. He felt ashamed for not checking up on Molly, after everything that happened. He grabbed some of Teddy’s baby food from the kitchen and sat down on the couch to feed him.

“Better since Fred woke up, but still shaky,” Ginny replied. “Though you would know that if you read my letters.” She stared at the pile of letters on the coffee table, one for each week he had been in this apartment. “She misses you. They all miss you. _I_ miss you.”

He looked up at her and was surprised, though he shouldn’t have been, to see her eyes watering. “I miss everyone too, I do, but,” he looked at Teddy, “I can’t go back right now. I need to focus on Teddy. On me.”

“I wish you would come home Harry,” Ginny said, sitting next to him, tucking her legs underneath her, gently touching his arm. “But I understand the need to escape. Hell, the number of times I’ve felt the urge to up and leave is higher than I’d like to admit.”

Harry’s nerves softened. She understood. Of course, she understood. “You’re always welcome here Gin. I know I haven’t done anything to make you think that you should come, but I’d never turn you away.”

He left a lot of things unsaid. Like that he wasn’t sure if he wanted a relationship with her right now. Like that the number of times that she crossed his mind in the two months he had been in this apartment was innumerable. Like that he never wanted to leave her, or any of them behind, but that he needed to.

Like that he didn’t want to depend on her or have her depend on him, but he understood that they were a part of each other’s lives and that depending on people in your life wasn’t a bad thing, to an extent.

He left these things unsaid.

But Ginny heard them anyways. And she understood, because she was thinking some of the same things. She wasn’t ready for a relationship, but she needed him in her life just as much as he needed her.

The tea was still on the counter, cold now, when Luna came back through the flat door with a bag of blueberry and raspberry scones.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to warn you now that there are 17 people in the last scene and, like, half of them have lines and it's all over the place sooooooooooo, be prepared for that.

**Two**

For the next two weeks Luna and Ginny, and sometimes just Ginny, visited more often. Not every day, Harry liked having some time alone and they knew that. But for the better part of the next fourteen days, they got up early and went to Harry’s – much to the annoyance of Ron, who also wanted to come.

Luna thought it might be a good idea to bring Ron, but Ginny didn’t think it was a good idea at all and refused to bring him with – it wasn’t anything personal, his magic had been acting up. Arthur thought the accidental magic might be an aftereffect of trauma, but no matter what was causing it, Ron couldn’t come to Harry’s magic-free apartment. And anyway, she had a plan.

* * *

On one of the days that she came without Luna, she brought it up. She had just finished her tea and was holding Teddy, and Harry was smiling at them. He looked so happy. It was the perfect time to bring it up.

“So,” she started and Harry looked up, a little startled – he had been so lost in the moment, watching Ginny hold Teddy was just… fascinating to him. The first time she held him, she had been so nervous because she had never held a baby before. But now, after just a few times holding him, she seemed comfortable.

“So,” he asked, unsure of what she was about to say.

Ginny passed Teddy back to him and Harry adjusted him so that they were both comfortable. She started again. “So. Your birthday is coming up and Mum wants you to come to the burrow. To celebrate.”

He cringed. “I don’t know, Gin. I don’t want to celebrate my birthday.” He looked at the baby in his arms, who was reaching out to Ginny, his hair orange, and passed him back. Teddy liked to play this game with them. “Ted hasn’t been around a lot of people. I don’t want to shock him with too many.”

“You can leave anytime you want; people will understand. They just want to see you and maybe Teddy will like being around people. There’s no way to know unless you try and if you don’t try now, then he definitely won’t know how to handle it in a couple of months,” Ginny said, meeting Harry’s eyes before continuing, “Or years.”

Harry could tell that she wanted this a lot, and while he wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea of a Weasley-sized social situation, he didn’t think he could let her down again. He was so tired of letting her down.

* * *

Harry, Teddy, and Andromeda all arrived at the Burrow at eleven. After much internal debate about whether bringing Teddy to such a big social event was a good idea, he figured that if they were going to go, he should probably bring another familiar face so that Teddy could be more comfortable. Plus, Harry and Andromeda had been talking a lot since he took Teddy in. It only made sense.

He hesitated in front of the door. He had never knocked before, he was usually accompanied by Ron or one of the many other Weasley siblings, so knocking had never been an issue. Now it felt necessary. But it also felt very odd, feeling like he had to knock. He stood there for a moment before knocking, his knuckles hitting the door three times before falling to his side again.

They were all quiet as they heard someone walk to the door, their footsteps loud, and swing the door wide open. “Harry,” Molly exclaimed, opening up her arms to welcome him, “You should know that there’s no need for you to knock!” She turned after hugging Harry, “And Andromeda. I’m glad you could make it,” she said, warmly, but it was clear who all her attention was on now.

“This is Teddy,” he said, gesturing to the baby in Andromeda’s arms, whose hair was quickly turning ginger. Clearly, Teddy already wanted to be held by this new person, which Harry was somewhat surprised by.

“Yes, of course,” Molly said, accepting Teddy from Andromeda. She smiled at the baby in her arms lovingly and Harry knew she was already thinking about what colors of yarn she should knit his sweater with.

Ginny came running up behind Molly, and said, “Mum, I told you I was going to answer the door.” He wondered how she knew that he was going to knock and was so distracted by her that he didn’t see the look exchanged between Molly and Andromeda. Though, to be fair, Ginny was a fair bit distracted too.

Molly stepped aside to let Harry and Andromeda in and passed Teddy back to Andromeda before heading back to the kitchen.

“Andromeda, Harry, did either of you want a cuppa?”

* * *

The Weasley family felt liked it had doubled since the last time he had been around but that may have been because in addition to the ten Weasleys*, Hermione, Luna, Lee, and Oliver had all been invited, not including Harry, Teddy, and Andromeda. Due to the even bigger size of the family, Bill and Charlie set up the table outside and used magic to lengthen it.

Harry was actually having a nice time at the dinner – talking to Arthur about televisions and cartoons, talking to George and Fred about the re-opening of their shop, listening to the whole story of how Lee and Fred ended up together (which was both shocking and not shocking at the same time), and then the whole story of how Percy and Oliver got together. It was all a bit much, but it was also nice.

And then the conversation turned to Hogwarts.

“I don’t want to go back to Hogwarts, Mum,” Ginny said, raising her voice. The entire table quieted, except Teddy, who was trying to get Fleur’s attention, grabbing at her face and making gurgling noises.

“You have to finish your education,” Molly replied, “now let’s drop this.”

“Why should I go back to a place where I, one, got possessed, and two, had to fight in a bloody war,” Ginny asked, growing angry.

“She’s got a point dear,” Arthur added and Ginny smiled at her dad.

Molly turned to her husband and said, “You’re in favor of our daughter not finishing her studies?”

“Maybe if we write Minevra, she’ll figure out a way for Ginny to finish her studies from home,” Arthur said, “And if Ginny doesn’t want to go back, I think we should support her.”

Conversations begun again. Charlie suggested Ginny go to non-boarding wizarding school in Romania to finish her studies. Fred expressed his full support in Ginny not finishing her studies. Luna mentioned that her father had already agreed to her not going back. Molly just looked dazed.

Harry was overwhelmed.

Hermione got the attention of the table, and said, “Wait, are Ron and I the only ones going back to Hogwarts?”

“Professor McGonagall offered me a teaching position. And Percy got an offer too, didn’t you,” Bill chimed in. Percy nodded.

“And,” George said, bringing all the attention to him, “I’ve been thinking about going back. Retaking seventh year.”

“Oh, George, that’s wonderful,” Molly said.

“No, it’s bloody not wonderful Mum,” Fred said, turning to George, “What about the shop?”

“Well, I’ll be there for the opening next month, but I thought a lot while you were in the coma, and I really want to do this. Finish my studies. Take my N.E.W.Ts. The works. And McGonagall already said I could,” George replied. Fred just stared at him like he was crazy.

There was so much tension at the table that Harry couldn’t help but break it.

“I’m not going back either.”

Molly pressed her hand to her temple, remembering that this gathering wasn’t about this – it was about Harry’s birthday.

“Can somebody help me bring out the cake?”

* * *

When Harry and Teddy returned to their apartment, they were both exhausted from everything that happened at the Burrow. And for the first time in a long time, Harry got a full night of sleep.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, after waiting to write until after my exams were finished, I kinda felt blocked on this fic - all my ideas were, like, behind a wall. Finally decided to just sit down and write.

**Three**

Two weeks before Hogwarts was set to start, Harry, Teddy, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna went to Diagon Alley, despite the fact that only Hermione and Ron would be going back. Naturally, their first stop was Gringotts.

Harry couldn’t help but share a smile with Ron and Hermione as they walked in.

* * *

Harry had never thought to look deeper into his parents’ vault, he only went there to get money for textbooks and now, money to live. But now that he was standing in it with everyone, all he could think about was the Lestrange family vault – all the family heirlooms that were in it.

Maybe family heirlooms were here too.

Harry handed Teddy off to Luna and began to sort through everything, sending off Earknus, the goblin, and his friends off to stop at their vaults.

The first things he found were four urns, all of which were empty. He checked the bottom of each one and they were engraved with the names of his parents and grandparents – he wondered what had happened to the ashes. He supposed he would never know. He set them aside.

The next thing he found were a pair of tea cups and saucers. They were delicate, mostly pale yellow with a gold lining, but the insides of tea cups were white, with large pink lilies decorating each one. He turned each of them over in his hand as well, hoping for an engraving, but no luck.

He searched for a while, finding all sorts of things – a stack of polaroids tied together with a red ribbon, an old photo frame that pictured a young James and Sirius with who Harry assumed were his grandparents, and a journal. Harry thumbed through it before turning to the first page.

**_September 1, 1971_ **

_Dad says I need to keep a record of my times at Hogwarts. I just got sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius Black did too. Mum wouldn’t want me going near someone from that family, but he was crying. He doesn’t want to be here. Mum may not like the family, but she would disapprove of me not comforting him more. Another boy, Remus, I think, fell asleep in the bathroom and I had to carry him to his bed. Kingsley didn’t help, but Black and the other boy did._

_\- James F. Potter_

Harry couldn’t believe it. He was holding his father’s journal. He was reading something his father had written at the age of eleven. He flipped to the last entry, written not long after he was born, and he swore under his breath.

There were nearly nine years of his parents’ lives written in this.

He couldn’t wait to learn about them.

* * *

After leaving Gringotts, they headed over to Fred and George’s shop, which had reopened a couple of days before. Harry was happy to see that they removed love potions from the shelves – he, Ron, and Hermione had practically been begging them to do so for the past few weeks.

None of them were there to buy anything – just to support the twins. Nevertheless, Harry picked up some of the muggle magic tricks – something for him to do in his magic free apartment, and Ron picked up some bruise healing paste – because his magic had been acting wonky, he’d spent a lot of time getting out his frustrations on the new(ish) punching bag in Arthur’s shed and his knuckles were a bit beat up.

Ginny was looking at some moving stick on tattoos, a mix of wizard and muggle magic and something Harry was sure was new to the stock – he believed he would have remembered if half of Hogwarts had been obsessed with the “magic” of semi-permanent tattoos. “Look at this one Harry, it’s a moon charmed to look like what phase the moon is currently.”

He went over to look at the bin of stick on tattoos with Teddy in his arms, quickly joined by Luna, who was intrigued by the idea of a phase changing moon tattoo. Luna searched through the bin, grabbing whatever she fancied – they were cheap, two for only a knut. Harry and Ginny were more particular – he grabbed a few of the moon tattoos and (after some convincing from Ginny), one of the dragon options – a black one, like Norberta. Ginny chose a few pygmy puffs, which she was happy to see changed colors, to line her arms with. Teddy tried to grab at those.

Ginny headed off to another corner of the store, telling Harry to go ahead and pay for his stuff without waiting for her, and he was dragged out of the store by Hermione and Ron, who needed to buy school books, before she got in line.

* * *

By the time Ginny and Luna, who had stayed back, had caught up with them, Harry had already found and bought his copies of the reduced school book list that Minerva had given the three of them. They had a couple of different courses than him or else he would have just said that they could all use his books, since they would be doing most of the studying (the stuff that didn’t involve actual magic) at his apartment and all magic practice would be happening at the Burrow – everyone had agreed that if they were going to study outside of school, they should probably study together.

* * *

When all the shopping was done, Ginny followed Harry out of Diagon Alley, through the Leaky Cauldron, and into the streets of London. They took the tube back to his apartment and when they finally got there – Ginny revealed that the purchase she had been so secretive about was treacle tart flavoured tea – she had wanted to surprise him. He laughed at the ridiculousness of it.

Ginny put the kettle on as he hurried around the apartment, changing Teddy’s nappy and putting him down for a nap, and once they were able to sit down and enjoy a cuppa, he took a moment to appreciate how nice it all felt.


End file.
